Middlesbrough is the North East’s star performer for highway maintenance, followed by Darlington. Newcastle is the only council with a red (lowest) rating, though overall it rates as amber (medium). (See table below).
The government is adopting a carrot-and-stick approach to getting councils to improve their road maintenance record. The carrot is a Structures Fund worth up to £1bn available to local authorities through a bidding process while the stick is the public identification of the best and worst performers and the threat that councils that fail to deliver better roads could lose around a third of their share of the next year’s £1.6bn.
The announcement coincided with the news that the Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, suffered the embarrassment of having her car towed from a pothole in Oxfordshire.
It also comes a year after the Gateshead flyover approach to the Tyne Bridge had to be closed because of its condition, causing serious transport problems; it is now scheduled for demolition.
Neglect
The DfT said: “Government is backing councils across England to fix crumbling bridges, failing flyovers and deteriorating tunnels as the new Structures Fund opens…in the latest move to back drivers.
“Decades of neglected infrastructure have led to weight-restricted crossings adding miles to everyday journeys and deteriorating flyovers, leaving communities unsure when the next closure will come. The new fund will put money directly into the hands of councils to tackle the most pressing cases they cannot afford to fix alone.”
Heidi Alexander said: “Crumbling bridges and worn-out flyovers have been patched up rather than properly fixed for far too long, leading to frustrating weight limits and lengthy diversions. Every closed bridge is a barrier to growth; a blocked route to work, a delayed delivery, a family unable to reach the services they depend on.
“Councils have known what needs fixing for years but simply haven’t had the resources to act. We’re changing that, making sure structures are repaired properly, so people can live in properly connected communities.”
The fund was now open for bids and would inject cash into repairing critical structures across England, ensuring transport infrastructure was more resilient to extreme weather, while making every day journeys safer, smoother and more dependable, said the DfT.
Councils are being encouraged to submit draft applications by 19 June for early feedback, giving them the opportunity to strengthen proposals before the final deadline of 3 August. A series of webinars will be held to help authorities navigate the process. Funding decisions will be announced in the autumn, with all successful schemes required to complete works by March 2030.
New rules
Councils face tough new rules on how they spend pothole funding as the government sets out new requirements to ensure taxpayers see real improvements. Councils will have to publish reports proving they are spending all of their highways cash purely on road maintenance, showing long-term plans for looking after roads and better training for their highways teams. Councils that fail to prove they are delivering better roads face losing around a third of their [share of] £1.6bn funding for the next year, said the DfT.
Councils rated red in the government’s local road maintenance ratings would receive dedicated expert support to help them drive up standards and deliver the visibly safer, smoother roads their communities deserved.
North East ratings
Local road maintenance ratings: North East 2025/26
| Council | Overall | Condition | Spend | Wider best practice |
| Darlington | Green | Amber | Green | Amber |
| Durham | Amber | Amber | Green | Amber |
| Gateshead | Amber | Amber | Green | Amber |
| Hartlepool | Amber | Amber | Green | Amber |
| Middlesbrough | Green | Amber | Green | Green |
| Newcastle | Amber | Amber | Green | Red |
| North Tyneside | Amber | Amber | Green | Amber |
| Northumberland | Amber | Amber | Green | Amber |
| Redcar & Cleveland | Amber | Amber | Green | Amber |
| South Tyneside | Amber | Amber | Green | Amber |
| Stockton | Amber | Amber | Green | Amber |
| Sunderland | Amber | Amber | Green | Amber |
Source: DfT
The ratings range from green (highest) through amber to red (lowest). They measure how well each local highway authority is maintaining its local roads and are based on 3 areas:
- the current condition of local roads
- how much each local highway authority is spending on maintaining its local roads
- how effectively each local highway authority follows best practice in highways maintenance – for example by using technologies to fix and prevent potholes more efficiently
Local authorities with good local road condition, high adoption of best practice, and that invest significantly into maintaining their roads receive a green rating, while those where performance is more mixed or consistently weaker across these areas receive an amber or red rating. This report is based on a press release from the DfT
